There’s definitely a fair case to be made that slowing down the hype surrounding George Lombard Jr. is the best thing to do for the sake of the New York Yankees‘ young shortstop.
The problem is that Lombard keeps raising the bar for hype right back up.
Take Tuesday night, for instance. Lombard was making his MLB playoff debut.
The Yankees were hosting their rival Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium for Game 1 of a best-of-three AL Wild Card Series. The margins would be thin.
At least, you’d think that. But behind Ben Rice, Cam Schlittler and Lombard, the Yankees posted a 9-0 win.
Pretty much every time Lombard takes the field these days, he seems quite worthy of the hype.
If his postseason continues like this, the hype train certainly won’t be slowing down.
George Lombard Jr. Breaks Yankees Record
Lombard is officially the youngest player in Yankees history to have three hits in his postseason debut.
In fact, at 21 years and 119 days, Lombard is the second-youngest player in MLB history to have such a feat, according to MLB Network’s Sarah Langs.
The only guy younger was Gregg Jefferies, who was 21 years and 64 days when he had three hits in Game 1 of the 1988 NLCS.
All three of Lombard’s hits were singles. He also scored two runs.
As far as smooth, simple debuts go, Lombard had it. He looked comfortable under the bright lights, and the Yankees now hold a 1-0 series lead needing just one more win to knock out the Red Sox.
Pressure as a Privilege
Being the shortstop for the Yankees comes with pressure.
That was true even before Derek Jeter turned it into one of the marquee spots in sports, but Jeter certainly didn’t make it any easier for the guys who have come after him.
For a time, Anthony Volpe looked like he’d be the next guy there, but on Tuesday night, he actually started at second base and had a single on a 1-for-3 night.
The Yankees decided that Volpe wouldn’t be it, but that Lombard might be.
Lombard won’t be Jeter, because that’s not how this works. No one will ever be quite like the Captain.
But Lombard can be a star. He’s still got a few inconsistencies but can clean those up and become everything the Yankees could possibly dream of.
Lombard sure doesn’t seem to mind the pressure of the day-to-day. If he did, Tuesday night would’ve been tough — but there he was, going 3-for-4.
This is a guy who seems made for the bright lights of the Bronx and the pressure of the pinstripes.
Lombard sure looks like it all is a privilege to him. At this point, it’s also a privilege to the Yankees to have Lombard on their side.
George Lombard Jr. Makes Brand New Yankees History